What is "venire facias"

Venire facias \Ve*ni"re fa"ci*as\ [L., make, or cause, to come.] (Law)

1. A judicial writ or precept directed to the sheriff, requiring him to cause a certain number of qualified persons to appear in court at a specified time, to serve as jurors in said court.

2. A writ in the nature of a summons to cause the party indicted on a penal statute to appear. Called also venire.

n. 1 (context legal English) A judicial writ or precept directed to the sheriff, requiring him to cause a certain number of qualified persons to appear in court at a specified time to serve as jurors. 2 (context legal English) A summons to cause the party indicted on a penal statute to appear.

n. a judicial writ ordering a sheriff to summon people for jury duty

In law, venire facias ( Latin for "may you cause to come"), also venire facias juratores, and often shortened to venire, is a writ directing a sheriff to assemble a jury. Various types are:

• venire facias ad respondendum – "a writ requiring a sheriff to summon a person against whom an indictment for a misdemeanor has been issued," now superseded by the use of warrants.
• venire facias de novo, often shortened to venire de novo – a writ for summoning a new jury panel, or venire, "because of some impropriety or irregularity in the original jury return or verdict such that a judgment cannot be entered on it." This results in a trial de novo. "In substance, the writ is a motion for a new trial, but when the party objects to the verdict because of a procedural error (and not an error on the merits), the form of motion was traditionally for a venire facias de novo." For example, see the 1817 decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in Laidlaw v. Organ (15 U.S. 178): "...the judgment must be reversed, and the cause remanded to the district court of Louisiana, with direction to award a venire facire de novo" ( John Marshall).
• venire facias tot matronas – "a writ requiring a sheriff to summon a jury of matrons to execute a writ de ventre inspiciendo."